Ukraine Releases Details of Railroad Deal

Ukraine’s embassy in Tehran published details of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that Iran and Ukraine have recently signed to boost cooperation in the railroad industry.

In a meeting in Kiev on Wednesday, Iranian Deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Ali Nourzad and Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan signed an MoU as part of efforts to promote mutual cooperation in the railroad industry.

Meanwhile, the embassy of Ukraine in Tehran has published a press release, providing more details of the meeting and the document.

According to the embassy, the MoU is aimed at initiating close cooperation in the railroad sector and implementing large-scale railroad projects in Iran.

Under the MoU, the two sides are going to exchange experience in developing railroad infrastructure, namely the production of long “jointless rails”, rail-laying equipment, as well as communication and alarm systems.

Moreover, Tehran and Kiev will work together on high-speed train technology and new technologies in manufacturing rails.

During the Wednesday meeting, Omelyan outlined Ukraine’s activities in the railroad industry, road construction and maritime industries, saying, “I hope that Ukraine will demonstrate its potential to the Iranian side. After the signing of the memorandum, we can accomplish a lot.”

The Ukrainian minister also highlighted the impact of mutual cooperation on a multimodal transport route connecting Iran to Europe via Ukraine.

“Good synergy can happen if Ukrainian companies will build railroad and railway infrastructure in Iran… I personally have been in Tehran, and the roads there are some of the best in the world. Therefore, the involvement of Iranian companies is a good opportunity to change the quality of roads in Ukraine”, he added.

In separate comments, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Iran Serhii Burdyliak, who was also at the ceremony in Kiev, hailed the MoU, saying, “This document is an important landmark in our bilateral relations. Since the fifth meeting of the Joint Iranian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on economic and trade cooperation, we (have) focused on the elaboration of the agreements in the infrastructure field. Numerous Ukrainian companies are willing to take part in the modernization of the Iranian railways. We are also ready to supply locomotives and wagon to Iran, and to develop transport infrastructure.”

“In order to achieve that goal, Ukrainian enterprises are willing to make joint ventures with Iranian companies. As I have always said, we are not looking at Iran as a market for us; we are looking at Iran as a partner and a friend,” the ambassador added, according to the press release.